Methodology for selecting Micro-Influencers as part of a Vlogging strategy

What is a Vlogger or Micro Influencer?

Vlogging – otherwise known as ‘vlogging’. A vlog is primarily a blog in video form and can be posted on any video-sharing website, where others can view, subscribe and comment on them (Gao et al, 2010). Usually showing the persons day to day life and film in personal locations such as their home or bedroom (Snelson, 2013).

Micro-Influencers –  A micro-influencer is anyone who can affect desired change for you on social media. They should be connected to your target market on social channels and be reasonably active on the right forums to help you achieve your marketing and sales goals (Dinesh, 2017). Someone who has anywhere between 10,000 and 500,000 followers on social media channels (Wissman, 2018).

Helpful YouTube Video on what micro-influencers are:

Micro-Influencers: The Future of Influencing? | The Business of Influence | Forbes –

Quickfire Positives and Negatives of using Micro-Influencers:

Positives:

  • Low Cost
  • Cover a wide range of niches
  • Can appear more authentic and genuine
  • Micro-influencers are closer to a peer-level with their followers
  • higher engagement rates compared to macro-influencers

Negatives:

  • Choosing the appropriate micro-influencer can take a while due to vast amount of them
  • Lower reach than conventional mainstream influencers
  • Less customer potential
  • In-experience working with businesses

(Influencermarketinghub, 2018; Bunn, 2018)

For more in-depth positives and negatives:

https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/micro-influencers-vs-macro-influencers/516896/

Tips for finding a Micro-Influencer for your brand:

Use hashtags to find influencers – Use social media hashtags to find influencers already interested in your products or services.

Look on Google – You can always resort to Google to search for bloggers in your city. Be very specific in your search. For example, if you own a local juice bar, try searching “Gaming Vlogger in Brighton.”

Research on Social Media – Search through your own followers to see if any of them have a big following. Choosing an influencer who already has an interest for your brand makes collaborating much easier (Ake, 2017).

Use Website Tools – The analytics Website Buzzsumo can help to search for influencers by keyword/s, and then order your results based on follower numbers or website domain authority. This tool also can see what types of links each influencer shares, so you can get a better idea of their relevancy to your own audience (Buzzsumo, 2018; Bullock, 2017). Another website is Iconosquare which allows businesses to create a list of social media influencers related to key words and phrases inputted. Which can be useful as a starting point to research and selection (Iconosquare, 2018).

More Information about finding the right Micro-Influencer for your brand:

https://brand24.com/blog/who-are-micro-influencers-how-to-find-them/

Methodology for selecting a Micro-Influencer for your brand:

Selecting micro-influencers for particular brands is determined by a number of factors:

Most importantly, check their popularity and industries they belong to (Forbes, 2016) –  When selecting a micro-influencer for your brand your first check should be whether they are part of your industry. Micro-influencers have a very niche audience and selecting the wrong audience to market your products too will result in poor engagement.

Relevance: Check the followers, friends, or fans on an influencer’s profile (Forbes, 2016) – If you think you have found an influencer who might fit your brand profile, you can quickly check their audience followers to make sure they match your target audience. Without a matching target audience, the influencer will have no use to your product  marketing.

Look if the Influencer post frequently (Chatterjee, 2011) – When selecting an influencer for your brand, engagement is a necessity. If a micro-influencer is posting regularly then their audience will be engaged, and they can be trusted as a reliable source of your products.

Does the influence have shared Values and interests with your brand – Try and select an influencer who has connecting interests to yours. This will mean they care more about the brand and the advertised posts will no feel forced/paid and are more likely to entice the audience in.

After using a micro-influencer, you have selected, report back and check results (Williams, 2017) – It is important to check results of a tweet or blog post you have paid for from a micro-influencer. The results will allow you to assess the success of your choice and from this data you have collected, you can decide what to do differently next time or what to change.

For more Guidance click here:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesagencycouncil/2017/08/02/how-to-choose-the-right-micro-influencer-for-your-brand/#6a51188e7885

 

Models to help select the right influencer for your brand:

Wiedmann, Hennigs & Langner (2012) have created a model listing the types of criteria needed to select a micro-influencer right for you brand. This model was specifically used for the fashion industry, however the core concept of the model can be applied to any industry.

You can use these scales to pin point whether the micro-influencers you have picked out directly fit with this model and can be used to distinguish social influencers from non-influencers (Wiedmann, Hennigs & Langner, 2012).

This is followed on by giving another helpful model for identifying types of influencers, which again could be useful at highlighting what type of influencer you want to target and for what purpose you need them for.

(Wiedmann, Hennigs & Langner, 2012)

How to find local Instagram influencers – 

References:- 

Ake, C. (2017). How To Choose The Right Micro-Influencer For Your Brand. [online] Forbes.com. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesagencycouncil/2017/08/02/how-to-choose-the-right-micro-influencer-for-your-brand/#6c1c9fa27885 [Accessed 28 Mar. 2018].

Bunn, C. (2018). Pinch Social | The Pros and Cons of Macro and Micro-Influencers. [online] Pinchsocial.ca. Available at: http://pinchsocial.ca/2018/02/06/the-pros-and-cons-of-macro-and-micro-influencers/ [Accessed 28 Mar. 2018].

Chatterjee, P. (2011). Drivers of new product recommending and referral behaviour on social network sites. International Journal Of Advertising, 30(1), 77-101.

Dinesh, D. (2017). Why Micro-Influencers Are a Social Media Marketing Imperative for 2017. EContent, 40(3).

Forbes, K., 2016. Examining the Beauty Industry’s Use of Social Influencers. ELON JOURNAL, 78.

Iconosquare: Instagram & Facebook Analytics and Management Platform. (2018). Iconosquare: Instagram & Facebook Analytics and Management Platform. [online] Available at: https://pro.iconosquare.com/ [Accessed 28 Mar. 2018].

Influencer Marketing Hub. (2018). Pros and Cons of Working With Micro-influencers. [online] Available at: https://influencermarketinghub.com/pros-and-cons-of-working-with-micro-influencers/ [Accessed 28 Mar. 2018].

Klaus-Peter Wiedmann , Nadine Hennigs & Sascha Langner (2010) Spreading the Word of Fashion: Identifying Social Influencers in Fashion Marketing, Journal of Global Fashion Marketing, 1:3, 142-153, DOI: 10.1080/20932685.2010.10593066

Snelson, C. (2013). Vlogging about school on YouTube: An exploratory study. New Media & Society, 17(3), pp.321-339.

Williams, D. (2017). 7 key steps to choosing the right social media influencer. [online] Business.twitter.com. Available at: https://business.twitter.com/en/blog/7-key-steps-choosing-social-media-influencer.html [Accessed 28 Mar. 2018].

Wissman, B. (2018). Micro-Influencers: The Marketing Force Of The Future?. [online] Forbes.com. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/barrettwissman/2018/03/02/micro-influencers-the-marketing-force-of-the-future/#496587366707 [Accessed 27 Mar. 2018].